United Methodist Bishop William H. Willimon says Alabama's new immigration law is the meanest in the nation.(File/The Birmingham News)

United Methodist Bishop William Willimon, head of the North Alabama Conference, has called Alabama's new immigration law the "meanest" in the nation and an embarrassment to the state.

"The purpose feels like intimidation and meanness," Willimon said.

Willimon said some of his Methodist clergy in Alabama penned an open letter to Gov. Robert Bentley, who signed it into law last week, and to sponsors of the immigration bill, calling it an unjust law. "It was a statement of concern from the grassroots clergy," Willimon said. Willimon has distributed the letter with his endorsement. The Methodist bishop for south Alabama, Paul W. Leeland, has also issued a statement opposing the law.

Willimon has also urged United Methodists to attend an ecumenical prayer vigil on June 25 at 6:30 p.m. in Linn Park in Birmingham to voice opposition to the law and pray for those affected.

"There's a lot of frustration out there, disappointment, embarrassment," Willimon said. "We will come together and pray."

Willimon noted that many United Methodist churches have Hispanic outreach programs, Spanish-speaking worship and ministries to immigrants.

"One of the most nefarious aspects of this law is it appears to criminalize Alabamians in the act of being helpful and compassionate," he said.

The law includes a provision that makes it illegal to knowingly hire or give a ride to an illegal immigrant. A church volunteer who gives someone a ride to the doctor could be prosecuted, Willimon noted.

The claim by politicians that clamping down on immigration will create jobs "I find particularly repugnant," Willimon said.

Willimon said tornado relief efforts have been hampered. "Spanish-speaking people have been reluctant to receive aid because they are worried there will be problems," Willimon said. "It's very sad."

Willimon said he hopes there will be an increasing recognition that the law runs counter to the Christian spirit of compassion. "The Catholic bishops had already spoken out before we had," he said.

The United Methodists will take a lead in the conversation on how to respond to the law, he said. "One thing our church is hoping to show our Spanish-speaking friends is that this law is not in our spirit," Willimon said. "We want the world to know that this does not represent the best of Alabama."